Video processing in modular display system and method

Abstract

An active receiver card for a display is provided. The active receiver comprises a processor, a first interface, and a second interface. The first interface is configured to receive a broadcast serialized video data stream as input from a video processing system. The active receiver card is configured to be electrically connected to a tile of a display. The active receiver card further comprises a second interface configured to output control signals to a plurality of pixels of the tile of the display. The processor of the active receiver card is configured to extract from the received broadcast serialized video data stream video image data pertaining to the tile of the display, and based thereon, the active receiver card is configured to output the control signals used to control a plurality of pixels of the tile of the display.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . An active receiver card for a display comprising one or more tiles, each tile comprising a plurality of pixels, the active receiver comprising:
 a processor; and   a first interface configured to receive a broadcast serialized video data stream as input from a video processing system, the broadcast serialized video data stream including video image data pertaining to said tile of the display and the broadcast serialized video data stream further including other video image data pertaining to one or more other tiles of said display;   wherein the active receiver card is configured to be electrically connected to a tile of the display;   wherein the active receiver card further comprises a second interface configured to output control signals used to control the plurality of pixels of the tile of the display;   wherein the processor of the active receiver card is configured to extract from the received broadcast serialized video data stream video image data that pertains to the tile of the display to which the active receiver card is electrically connected, and based on the video image data that pertains to the tile of the display to which the active receiver card is electrically connected, the active receiver card is configured to output the control signals used to control the plurality of pixels of the tile of the display.   
     
     
         2 . The active receiver card according to  claim 1 , wherein the active receiver card receives the broadcast serialized video data stream as asymmetrical communication between the active receiver card and the video processing system. 
     
     
         3 . The active receiver card according to  claim 1 , wherein the active receiver card is configured to receive through the first interface the broadcast serialized video data stream without requiring return communication or without confirmation to the video processing system. 
     
     
         4 . The active receiver card according to  claim 1 , wherein the active receiver card is configured to receive through the first interface the broadcast serialized video data stream, the broadcast serialized video data stream including data not pertaining to the tile of the display, or including data pertaining to other tiles. 
     
     
         5 . The active receiver card according to  claim 1 , wherein the tile comprises a board onto which the plurality of pixels of said tile are provided, and wherein said board comprises per pixel one or more light-emitting elements (LEEs), such as for example LEDs. 
     
     
         6 . The active receiver card according to  claim 5 , wherein the second interface is directly or indirectly electrically connected to said board. 
     
     
         7 . The active receiver card according to  claim 1 , wherein the active receiver card is configured to operate asymmetrically with the video processing system such that the serialized video data stream transmitted downstream from the video processing system is transmitted at a higher bandwidth than a bandwidth of data transmitted upstream to the video processing system. 
     
     
         8 . The active receiver card according to  claim 1 , further comprising a non-volatile memory that stores at least one (x,y) coordinate of a pixel of the plurality of pixels of one of the tiles of the display that corresponds to said pixel mounted on said board of said one of the tiles, the at least one (x,y) coordinate corresponding to a particular (x,y) pixel coordinate of said one of the tiles. 
     
     
         9 . The active receiver card according to  claim 8 , wherein the processor of the active receiver card is configured to determine a coordinate (a,b) out of the serialized video data stream, and compare the determined coordinate (a,b) to the at least one (x,y) coordinate of said pixel of the plurality of pixels. 
     
     
         10 . The active receiver card according to  claim 1 , wherein the processor of the active receiver card is configured to extract a corresponding pixel value from the serialized video data stream. 
     
     
         11 . The active receiver card according to  claim 10 , wherein the processor of the active receiver card is configured to perform at least one mathematical operation on the corresponding pixel value. 
     
     
         12 . The active receiver card according to  claim 11 , wherein the processor of the active receiver card is configured to convert an outcome of the at least one mathematical operation to an output that can be interfaced with the second interface. 
     
     
         13 . The active receiver card according to  claim 12 , wherein the processor of the active receiver card is configured to send corresponding signals to said board of the tile comprising the plurality of pixels of said tile and per pixel comprising one or more LEEs, to light up the LEEs in correspondence with the outcome of the at least one mathematical operation. 
     
     
         14 . A method for controlling with an active receiver card a plurality of pixels of a tile of a display, the active receiver card being electrically connected to the tile of the display, the method comprising:
 receiving by a first interface a broadcast serialized video data stream as input from a video processing system, the broadcast serialized video data stream including video image data pertaining to said tile of the display and the broadcast serialized video data stream further including other video image data pertaining to one or more other tiles of said display;   extracting by a processor of the active receiver card, from the received broadcast serialized video data stream, video image data pertaining to the tile of the display to which the active receiver card is electrically connected; and   based on the extracted video image data that pertains to the tile to which the active receiver card is electrically connected, outputting, by a second interface of the active receiver card, control signals used to control the plurality of pixels of the tile of the display.   
     
     
         15 . A modular display system configured to broadcast a serialized video data stream, comprising:
 a display for displaying the serialized video data stream, wherein the display comprises a plurality of tiles including at least a first tile and a second tile; and   a video processing system configured to output the serialized video data stream as a plurality of portions of the serialized video data stream, each of the plurality of portions of the serialized video data stream pertaining to a corresponding one of the plurality of tiles, such that the plurality of portions of the broadcast serialized video data stream comprises at least a first portion of the serialized video data stream comprising video image data that pertains to the first tile of the display and a second portion of the serialized video data stream comprising video image data that pertains to the second tile of the display;   wherein the video processing system outputs both the first portion of the serialized video data stream and the second portion of the serialized video data stream combined as a single broadcast data stream to a first active receiver card corresponding to the first tile of the display and to a second active receiver card corresponding to the second tile of the display such that
 the processor of the first active receiver card is configured to extract from the received broadcast serialized video data stream video image data that pertains to the first tile of the display to which the first active receiver card is electrically connected, and based on the video image data that pertains to the first tile of the display to which the first active receiver card is electrically connected, the first active receiver card outputs the control signals used to control the plurality of pixels of the first tile of the display, and 
 the processor of the second active receiver card is configured to extract from the received broadcast serialized video data stream video image data that pertains to the second tile of the display to which the second active receiver card is electrically connected, and based on the video image data that pertains to the second tile of the display to which the second active receiver card is electrically connected, the second active receiver card outputs the control signals used to control the plurality of pixels of the second tile of the display.